Estimating the productive potential of five natural forest types in northeastern China

Abstract Background There is a serious lack of experience regarding the productive potential of the natural forests in northeastern China, which severely limits the development of sustainable forest management strategies for this most important forest region in China. Accordingly, the objective of t...

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Main Authors: Zhaofei Wu, Zhonghui Zhang, Juan Wang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: KeAi Communications Co., Ltd. 2019-10-01
Series:Forest Ecosystems
Subjects:
Online Access:http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40663-019-0204-0
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author Zhaofei Wu
Zhonghui Zhang
Juan Wang
author_facet Zhaofei Wu
Zhonghui Zhang
Juan Wang
author_sort Zhaofei Wu
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background There is a serious lack of experience regarding the productive potential of the natural forests in northeastern China, which severely limits the development of sustainable forest management strategies for this most important forest region in China. Accordingly, the objective of this study is to develop a first comprehensive system for estimating the wood production for the five dominant forest types. Methods Based on a network of 384 field plots and using the state-space approach, we develop a system of dynamic stand models, for each of the five main forest types. Four models were developed and evaluated, including a base model and three extended models which include the effects of dominant height and climate variables. The four models were fitted, and their predictive strengths were tested, using the “seemingly unrelated regression” (SUR) technique. Results All three of the extended models increased the accuracy of the predictions at varying degrees for the five major natural forest types of northeastern China. The inclusion of dominant height and two climate factors (precipitation and temperature) in the base model resulted in the best performance for all the forest types. On average, the root mean square values were reduced by 13.0% when compared with the base model. Conclusion Both dominant height and climate factors were important variables in estimating forest production. This study not only presents a new method for estimating forest production for a large region, but also explains regional differences in the effect of site productivity and climate.
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spelling doaj.art-c51cee86fcea4a079e2587ef84967feb2023-01-02T18:08:52ZengKeAi Communications Co., Ltd.Forest Ecosystems2197-56202019-10-016111110.1186/s40663-019-0204-0Estimating the productive potential of five natural forest types in northeastern ChinaZhaofei Wu0Zhonghui Zhang1Juan Wang2Research Center of Forest Management Engineering of State Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing Forestry UniversityJilin Provincial Academy of Forestry SciencesResearch Center of Forest Management Engineering of State Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing Forestry UniversityAbstract Background There is a serious lack of experience regarding the productive potential of the natural forests in northeastern China, which severely limits the development of sustainable forest management strategies for this most important forest region in China. Accordingly, the objective of this study is to develop a first comprehensive system for estimating the wood production for the five dominant forest types. Methods Based on a network of 384 field plots and using the state-space approach, we develop a system of dynamic stand models, for each of the five main forest types. Four models were developed and evaluated, including a base model and three extended models which include the effects of dominant height and climate variables. The four models were fitted, and their predictive strengths were tested, using the “seemingly unrelated regression” (SUR) technique. Results All three of the extended models increased the accuracy of the predictions at varying degrees for the five major natural forest types of northeastern China. The inclusion of dominant height and two climate factors (precipitation and temperature) in the base model resulted in the best performance for all the forest types. On average, the root mean square values were reduced by 13.0% when compared with the base model. Conclusion Both dominant height and climate factors were important variables in estimating forest production. This study not only presents a new method for estimating forest production for a large region, but also explains regional differences in the effect of site productivity and climate.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40663-019-0204-0Forest typesForest growthClimateSite conditionsSeemingly unrelated regression
spellingShingle Zhaofei Wu
Zhonghui Zhang
Juan Wang
Estimating the productive potential of five natural forest types in northeastern China
Forest Ecosystems
Forest types
Forest growth
Climate
Site conditions
Seemingly unrelated regression
title Estimating the productive potential of five natural forest types in northeastern China
title_full Estimating the productive potential of five natural forest types in northeastern China
title_fullStr Estimating the productive potential of five natural forest types in northeastern China
title_full_unstemmed Estimating the productive potential of five natural forest types in northeastern China
title_short Estimating the productive potential of five natural forest types in northeastern China
title_sort estimating the productive potential of five natural forest types in northeastern china
topic Forest types
Forest growth
Climate
Site conditions
Seemingly unrelated regression
url http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40663-019-0204-0
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AT zhonghuizhang estimatingtheproductivepotentialoffivenaturalforesttypesinnortheasternchina
AT juanwang estimatingtheproductivepotentialoffivenaturalforesttypesinnortheasternchina